Police actions to progress an investigation - South Yorkshire Police, April 2016

On 13 April 2016, we commenced an independent investigation into the manner in which South Yorkshire Police had progressed an investigation into allegations of inter-familial sexual offending.

Our investigators identified four subject officers, three of whom were interviewed under the misconduct caution. These officers co-operated fully with the investigation by answering all of the questions put to them. One of the subject officers retired during the course of the investigation so did not attend interview. He did, however, provide a detailed written response to the allegations made against him.

The officer in charge (OIC) of the investigation was alleged to have failed to progress the case effectively and failed to liaise with the Crown Prosecution Service in a timely manner.

During interview the officer accepted that he should have progressed the case more expeditiously, but provided verbal and documentary evidence of the heavy workload and resourcing issues his team were experiencing during the relevant period. The OIC’s supervisors also provided verbal and documentary evidence of the challenges being faced by their team during the relevant period, which impacted on their ability to supervise effectively.

The Lead Investigator carefully analysed the evidence gathered during the investigation and was of the opinion that none of the officers had a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct.

After reviewing our report, South Yorkshire Police agreed with our findings.